SEPTEMBER, 1953
483
ative methods for all known examples of each claw. I n general, the compounds dealt with are neither common nor under active investigation a t the present time; notable exceptions are the sydnones and saechminrins. In hi8 preface, the author has commented that one can hardly be an authority on a. subject as broad as that of this hook, and has warned the reader to be critical rather than passive in accepting the interpretation of the facts to be found here. However, for most of the compounds there is insufficient information available for a critical a p p r a i d , and the choice of Dr. Bamhas, B rhemist with wide experience in the general field of heterorvrlie chemistrv. as the author was a wise selection. One mieht
the various tautomeric forms of many of the compounds along the lines laid out by Arndt IAngew. Chern., 61,397 (1949)l would also have been welcome. However, these are minor criticisms, and the important task of reviewing the literature has been done verv well. 'fhe book is well minted and has relativelv few trivial errors. Inelu%ionof n gwnr man? *trtrrtun~lformulni n m k w irrlerlmr3lion of thv rvnrrwna inr vn.ti,.r t l m n ir orhrrwlse woulJ be. 'l'hc. handling of the complex nomenclature is very good. This volume should he in all chemiesl reference libraries, and will he especially important for those interested in thin and related phases of heterocyclic chemistry. ~
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THOMAS
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I t is the considered opinion uf the reviewer that this puldication is a very signitiaant contribution to the literature on synthetic organic chemistry and that it will he received with the heartiefit feelings of approbation. GEORGE HOLMKS RlClITER TXERICEIN~TITUTE HOUBTON, TEXAS
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PIGMENT CELL GROWTH
Edited by M y m n Gordon, New York Zoological Society. Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1953. 3 6 5 pp. Illustrated. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $7. THIS hook consists of the Proceedings of the thin1 conference on the Biology of Normal and Atypical Pigment Cell Gmwt,h, organized by Myron Gordon and held a t the New York Zoological Park, November 15, 16, and 17. 1051. The conference was attended hy a notable group of speaialists, in all aspects of this field, and both the papers and the discussions are included in the volume. Merely to list thc suthola and titles of the papers, 22 in number, would exceed the space d o t e d to a, review. Furthermore the great diversity of subject mat,ter covered in theso papers makes a comprehensive review impractical. The great interest in the ~ i e m e n cell t arises from the fact that it i8 easilv identified
JACOBS
U N I V ~ R ~ ~01 T YC*'IIORNI*
Los .iaoeL.ea. C*SITORNI*
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METHODEN DER ORGANISCHEN CHMIE. VOLUME
vrn
Edited by Eugen Miiller, Tubingen. Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany, 1952 (U.S. agents: Grune & Stratton, Inc., New York). xvi 775 pp. 17.5 X 26.5 em. DM 98.
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IT IS an opinion received by many, that organic synthesis is best attained through frenzied motions in the laboratory, profane exelt~metions,and larger volumes of reagents. Professors of the subject, who will neither enlarge nor abuse their ignorance with surh vulgar sentiments, will greet with delight and applaud the me& of the alternative ways described in the fourth edition of "Methoden der oqanischen Chemie." The third edition of this great work appeared about 20 years ago and enjoyed a reputation ss a source book that had no equal for information on lahoratory methods of synthesis. This new edition will be much enlarqed; the editors plan 14 volumes of approximately 700 pages each. These volume^ will he published during the neyt four years. This series begins with Volume VIII entitled, "Sauerstoffverbindungen 111'' which is divided into six sections. The fiwt section, by R. Crieger, deals with the preparation and reaotion~ of peroxides (74 pages). S. Petersen and H. F. Piepenbrink contrihuted the chanter on simnle derivatives of carbonic acid used in synthesis(l63pages). &tion three, by P. Kurts, is ooneerned with nitrilen, iwnitriles, and fulminic acid (112 pages). H. Heneeka and E. Ott, in the fourt,h section give a detailed discussion of ertrboxylie acids and decarbarylation (144 pages). Heneeka is also the author of section five an esters (144 pages) and co-author with Kurta of the last chapter of 68 pages dealing wit,!, . functional N-derivatives of the carboxyl group. Each chapter exhibits a sustained high level of performance. The references are scattered impractically through German, .American, and British sources and seem to cover the literature through 1951. With two exceptions, the authors are associated with Farhenfabriken Bayer. The entire work has also received the editorial attention of Eugcn Miiller, Otto Bayer, Hans Murwein, and Karl Ziegler. T h i ~has resulted in an agreeable combination of the points of view of both the academic and industrial Ixboratories.
able assurance. The areurrence of melanomas in man and in experimental animals makc8 the pigment cell particularly important in cancer research. The paper8 in this volumo deal with the ehemirrsl structure of melanins, the enzyme8 involved in melanin ~mduetion.the nature of the evto~l&~mic errtnules and their appearance under the phase contrast and tho electron mieroseopo, the history of the pigment cells in thp development of the chick and salsmendor, genetics studies on the fish and ford, and studies on tumor8 in fish, mouse, and man. The hook is well edited and indexed. The bibliographies are excellent and the photography remarkably well rept.odurerl. I t represents an extremely useful and satisfactory survey of a biological field in which a synthesis of material derivcd from many diverse approaches is rapid1.v heeoming possible.
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INSECT PHYSIOLOGY
Edited by Kenneth D. Roeder, Tufts College. John Wiley & sons, N~~ york, 1953. + 1100 pp, 257 figs, 55 + ,hl,, la .-- .--. - .w, -- r m qls --.
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BECAUSEof the ubiquity of insects and their trrmmtluus economic imwrtsncn,insectphusioloav hasdeveloped much faster than corresponding studies-i~;any other invertebrate phylum. No adequate American text existed heretofore and the present book is intended to fill this gap. I t is mitten by a panel of authors. This has the advantwgo that most fields h w e heen covered by oxpcrts with years of experience in their specialty. I t has in common with many similarly organized books a certain lnek in uniformity hoth in presentation and quality. In this respect it hardly lives up to the well-knoum British texthook of Wigglesworth. I t goes, however, into considerably more detail than the latter and, as a newer book, would naturally he more up to date. The m s t e d is prescntcd in 32 chapters. The fiwt three (54 pages) are an exeellcnt dosrription of the structure and the properties of the intogumcnt, especially the cuticle. Chapters 4 and 5 (92 pages) d e d with the respiratory mechanisms and t.he respiratory metabolism. They, clearly, belong to thr weaker
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION ones. I t is, far instance, difficult to find in them concrete data on the respiratory rates of various insects which easily could have been tabulated, and there are probably few physiologists who would agree to the statement that tho anaerobic metaholism is "less timeconsuming" than the aerobic one. The discussion of the physiological properties and chemical composition of the blood, on the contrary, is outstanding in its thoroughness and balanced presentation of t,he data, as is the discussion of the internal environment in regulation (chiefly osmaregulation) and metamorphosis (2 chapters, 71 pages). There follows ;I hricf chapter (14 pages) on hemoeytes, perieardial cells, and fat hody. Though not too familiar with this particular fiold, the reviewer feels, and this has been corroborated by a consulted specialist that many worth-while data have heen omitted in this contribution. The next chapter is somewhat longer (40 pages) and represents s very clear description of the circulatiou. The alimentary system and its functions, including the general problem of insert nutrition, is thoroughly covered in 5 chaptern (110 pages). Two brief chapters on excretion and biochemistry of the mu~ele(Ifi and 18 pages, respectively) follow, the latt,er, 0x5-inq to a scarcity of specific information on insects, being primarily a general discussion of intermediate metabolism. The electrophysiology of the nervous Bystem and the mechani~mof reflex activity are well presented in two ehapters (65 pages). Nearly a. hundred pages deal with sensory functions and thme four chapters appealed to the reviewer as enpecinlly well written. Very inntruotive and complete ( 3 chapters, 79 pages) is the account of the flight mechanisms, an i~ the description of insect behavior (4 chapters, 124 pages). The last four chaptem (153 page^) are devoted to the embryonic and postembryonic development,, including regeneration and the role of hormones in molting and metamorphosis. The hook has an extensive bibliography (107 pages with a t least 2500 ent,rien) which serves also as author index and an adequate subject index. Thc type is pleasing to the eye and all figures are well reproduced. There e m he little douht that, on the whale, the hook fulfillfi the aim of the editor to "~ummariae and evaluate the major brendr; in experimental research on insects." H e is frank in sdmit,t,ing that some topics, such a8 luminescenee or the physiology of the reproductive tract, have been omitted, hut he does not explain his reasons for doin%so. The hook will doubtlem bts valuable not only to the profeii~ionalentomologist, hut also t,o comparative physiologists and hiochemists: even psychologists 2nd flight engineera may find parts of it intere~tingand useful rmding. TTIE0T)OR VON BRAND N*T,O~-*L INSTITUTEB O F HE*I.TI' RRTIIERD*.M * R ~ * N D
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CHEMICAL CONTROL OF INSECTS
T. F. West, 1. Eliot Hordy, and I. H. Ford. John Wiley 8 Sons, Inc., New Y a k , 1952 (Frontiers of Science Series. General Editor, Bernard Lovell, Chapman & Hall, Ltd., London, 1951). xi 211 pp. 44 figs. 16 tables. 14.5 X 18.5 cm. $3.25.
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UNFORTIJNATELY, the publication date of this hook is misleading. Origindly published in 1951 (Imndon), the present American 1952 edition has not been changed. The authors &ate in preface that they have surveyed the "main insecticides cmphmising t,he more modern developments"; in these respect,^ t l m Imok is disappoint,ing for it ia out of date. It, is anparent horn
the text that the manuscript ura8 prepared prior t o 1948, with some chapters restricted to 1946 for latest references. These gap8 are large when one considern the striking developments in this field during the past five years. The book is concerned primarily with the destruction of insect,s hy chemical methods, and includes well-designed chapters on the t fumigation, ten typea or insect and the outline of p e ~ control: classes of insecticides, repellents and attraatants, and weed eantrol (because "the elimination of needs as alternative host plants for insect pests is of considerable interest" to the practical entomologist) constitute the remainder of the hook. Reaiatsnco or tolerance of insects to insecticides is not mentioned, akhough first reports of resistance were published prior to 1943 (HCN against Calif. red scale, tartar emetic against eitms thrips) and more instances have appeared since 1947 to the point t,hat this phenomenon is often expected to occur with insecticidal materials. Among the organa-phonphorus insecticides only H E T P and parathion are included, and the systemic insecticides ss such are not mentioned though they were first reported in 1947. I n general, the book is uniformly well written hut highlighted a t the level of the layman (uiz., definition of stereochemical, page 168). There are interesting and reasonably complete acrounts of nicotine, the rotenoids, arsenicals, coal-tar derivatives, pyrethrum, "Lethanes" and "Thanite," and miscellaneous insecticides including sahadilla, fluorine, and sulfur compounds. Fumigants are discussed in two chapters (stored products, soils) but ethylene dibromide is included in neither. Each chemical is considered as t o history, chemistry, methods of application, and the species of insects affected. Modes of action of the insecticides are not considered adequately, despite citation to Metcalf's excellent review of this subject. Specifically, a number of errors both typographical and text,ual are apparent, as for example: page 24, line 7, it is not rlenr s-hether the authors meant "hihernation," "tlestivstion," or "liberation"; page 43, structure for methallyl chloride incorrect,; psge 48, line 18, "Pinner" and not "Penncr"; the structures for nieotine,page50, are not eansistentrit.h the statement onpage 49 that, 8-nieot.ine is the laevorotstory form and +nicotine is the dextromtatory form; page 50, line 15, "mil." is incorrect (see alm p. 123, line 34); page 62, the H a t position 5 is unnecessary in drawing an aromatic ring; page 72, CaHSO, is acid calcium arsenate; page 74, mention is not made of the use of sodium silient,e mlution for removina arsenic-eontainine residues from fruits: pag? 76, line 21, crude oils are classed according to preponderance of paraffinic or nsphthenio character, hut not based upon residue after distillation; page i7, line 23, the iodine number is not commonly used in this manner: page 80, line 17, the interpretation ia correct excopt for the role of the aromatic ring content; page 80, line 22, the experiment,al r o r k on spray oil8 is of a. practical nature; page 96, equation incorrect; page 108, formulas for sodium fluoaluminatc incorrect: page 111, precise name and structure for parathion incorrect; page 119, line 1 reason for effieienry of chloropierin not verified; page 139, line 12, formule. incorrect; psge 139, line l i , "S" refers to "specid" (see page 143); page 143, horneol and isaborneol are stereoisomers; page 145, the discussion of the mode of action of BHC is contrary to the ntatement in line 10 here; page 172, this picture of the mode of action of BHC is no longer tenable.
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FRANCIS A. GUNTHER Ua1vr~sn.rop C * ~ l r o n s , r Cr~snE s X P E ~ M ST*T,ON ~NT R , " E E ~ , D EC. * L , ~ O ~ N , *
